Korean woman attacked in Manhattan

By Lee Kyung-min

A Korean tourist was attacked by a homeless man wielding a machete in a park in Manhattan, New York, Tuesday, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

The victim, a 31-year-old woman surnamed Im, sustained two non-life threatening slashing wounds to her right arm.

The attack occurred in Bryant Park in Manhattan at around 11:30 a.m.

Frederick Young, 43, an African American, approached her from behind and swung a machete at Im who was coming out of a building after a yoga lesson.

Im was immediately taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, and is reportedly in stable condition.

“She is in shock, but is in stable condition. She expressed her wish to fly back to Korea as soon as possible,” a foreign ministry official said.

The man has a record of 23 prior arrests including one for assault with a machete. He was caught and charged on the same day over the attack.

The attack comes amid heightened alert against attacks targeting Asian women in the area.

Another African American, Tyrell Shaw, 25, reportedly hit four Asian women in their faces with a plastic bag containing a hard object in early June.

The four had to have stitches.

Shaw had been on the run before being found dead Monday hanging from an elevator shaft inside a basement in Upper East Side, in an apparent suicide, according to local reports.

Residents of Asian descent have been sharing Facebook messages urging each other to take extra caution for the time being, ministry officials said.

Local police are investigating whether the attacks on the Asian women are cases of racially motivated hate crimes.